By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
May 6, 2022
Jamaican based company, Seprod Limited, will acquire Trinidad and Tobago owned distribution company A.S. Bryden and Sons. The company announced an agreement had been reached to acquire the Trinidad and Tobago Company with intentions of becoming the Caribbean’s leading integrated manufacturing and distribution group in the Caribbean. Date expected for the transaction to be completed has been set by May 31st, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
A.S. Bryden says it will continue to operate as an independent, stand-alone company and its subsidiaries: A.S. Bryden & Sons (Trinidad) Limited, Bryden pi Limited, and F.T. Farfan Limited, will continue to be managed by their existing executive teams.
However, it is expected that Richard Pandohie, the Chief Executive Officer of Seprod,will serve as interim Group Chief Executive Officer of A.S. Bryden.
According to a press release, with a team of close to 3,000 employees, Seprod and A.S. Bryden will serve the world’s leading food, pharmaceutical, premium beverage, hardware and industrial companies, with an expanded portfolio of their own manufactured brands.
Combined annual revenues are projected to be in excess of US$500m.
Mr Pandohie said, “Seprod has always considered that Caricom should operate as a single domestic market. This acquisition will allow AS Bryden and Seprod to take a quantum leap in creating a regional company, utilising the best of our Caribbean people to create value-added synergies.”
Seprod has been in the regional food manufacturing, distribution and agribusiness since the 1940s and has a manufacturing base spanning oils and margarine, wheat and corn milling, integrated dairy and biscuits and snacks. Popular bands in its portfolio include Supligen, Ovaltine, KraftHeinz, Mondalez, Goya, Post, Brunswick, Pfizer, Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Wyeth and PA Benjamins.
It is also a member of the Musson Group of Companies, which is involved in manufacturing, insurance, information technology, logistics and real estate.
Some of Musson’s subsidiaries include Seprod, General Accident Insurance Company (Jamaica and TT) Ltd, Interlinc Group Ltd (Jamacia and TT), Musson International Dairies TT Ltd, and PBS Technologies Ltd (formerly Massy Technologies) which it acquired in 2020, among others.